SOS
by Bunny Fair
Summary: Cor frowned at the lump on the bed and crossed his arms. Titus stood beside him, his brow furrowed and a frown deep on his face. It was far earlier than they usually got off work but Regis himself had texted them both, a simple message consisting of two words. SOS


Cor frowned at the lump on the bed and crossed his arms. Titus stood beside him, his brow furrowed and a frown deep on his face. It was far earlier than they usually got off work but Regis himself had texted them both, a simple message consisting of two words.

SOS, Alice.

They rushed home and found the shaking lump, tissues scattered around on the bed and shoes and clothes thrown carelessly to the floor. She'd surely heard them come in, but hadn't moved from her spot. The only movement or noise that signalled she was even conscious was the occasional tremble, followed by a soft sob or a sniffle.

Titus was the first to move forward, walking around the bed and kneeling down, leaning forward with his elbows on the bed. He tugged off his gloves and reached into the bundleof blankets, nudging them back to reveal the reddened eyes and runny nose. Cor sat on her other side, leaning against the pillows above her.

Alice sniffled softly and tucked her face down, closing her eyes as Titus gently brushed her hair out of her face. "What happened?"

She rubbed her eyes, smearing her mascara further. She opened her mouth to say something and let out a choked sob before hiding her face, gripping the blanket tightly as she pulled it back down. The two men frowned, glancing at each other in worry.

Alice had gotten up quite early, not long after Titus' alarm went off to shower and get ready. Except, she spent extra time styling her hair, doing her makeup, and picking out a proper outfit. The day before, she'd already painted her nails a dark purple and done a long skincare routine, along with shaving and plucking stray hairs.

They knew she had been quite busy as of late, even taking days off from running paperwork. According to the guards, she'd even left the Citadel several times in the past weeks. And, she'd been staying up late, working on her laptop and not even telling them what it was for, even going as far as hiding her screen when they passed by her.

It was unusual for her. She was very routine and didn't break her patterns often. Regardless, she had been very excited for whatever she was planning to go into action. Until now, where she was crying and her nice clothes forgotten on the floor and her makeup ruined.

Cor shifted closer and gently rubbed her side through the thick blanket. "You have to tell us, we're not mindreaders."

He watched as her shoulders trembled and she sniffled, slowly peeking up again. "I - I was trying to get a fun little side job as a writer for short stories at the newspaper. They were taking in new applications and I saw a poster so I applied and I did the interviews and I wrote new, fresh things for them, and I thought I had it. So I dressed nice and went down today for the final interview, but then they turned me down. I wasn't... I'm not good enough."

Cor felt his heart clench as she broke down again, his hand frozen on her side as she sobbed openly, pulling the blanket back up over her head fully. Titus swallowed thickly, gripping the sheet tightly.

They both knew how much she loved writing, she wrote often. She'd even done a month challenge for October, writing every day without fail. They read her works and complimented her endlessly as her writing evolved and her word counts began to soar. Hell, they'd even tried some things that she wrote about in the bedroom.

But now, hearing that the newspaper had turned her down for short stories? That hurt them, too. She'd been practically bursting with excitement for the past weeks and now it came crashing down, the fallout painfully visible.

Cor shifted and sat up to take off his boots, tugging his jacket off. He laid back down on his side and tugged her close, bundle and all. He squeezed her and pressed his face to the top of her head, softly mumbling, "It's okay, you're a fantastic writer, Alice, don't ever forget that."

She trembled and nodded slightly, peeking up when she heard the familiar sound of leather hitting the floor as Titus undressed down to his pants, laying down in front of her and resting one heavy arm over her and plucking tissues off the bed to toss on the floor. Titus kissed her forehead and smiled softly, tucking his other arm under his pillow. "They don't know what they're missing out on, princess."

She sniffled before pointing to him. "Tissues behind you."

Titus shifted and grabbed the box of tissues, tugging one out to offer to her. She took it gingerly and dabbed at her nose, wiping out the dripping fluid. She folded it properly and took another tissue to wipe at her eyes, frowning at the makeup that rubbed off.

She glanced down, frowning as she continued to rub off the makeup. "I'm sorry I made you both worry."

Cor shrugged, kissing the top of her head. "You don't abuse the SOS. How did Regis know you were upset, anyway?"

She gave him a small, sheepish smile. "I, uh, I've been talking with him about signing up for it. So, he knew about the interview and I told him I didn't get it."

Titus smiled slightly, slowly adjusting her blanket to slide his hand to rub her bare side. "And he texted us."

She nodded, continuing to rub at her face with several tissues. "Yeah, guess so. Thanks for coming, though. I just, I don't want to do anything right now and I couldn't go back to the Citadel looking like a mess."

Cor kissed the top of her head and mumbled, "Well, we got off early thanks to this, so we can spend the rest of the day here."

She smiled slightly, shifting to adjust the blanket and open it to lay part of it over him. "Thanks. Can we just lay here for a while? And order out tonight?"

Titus shrugged, glancing at Cor. "Don't see why not."

Cor nodded. "Then that's what we'll do. Whatever makes you feel better."

Alice smiled slightly, settling down between them as she stopped rubbing any remaining makeup off. She'd take a proper bath later and wash off then. Right now, she was warm and comfortable and tired.

She rested her head down and nuzzled against Titus' chest, loosely laying her arm around him. He smiled softly and tucked her close, drawing a grunt from Cor as she was pulled away from him. Cor moved closer, squishing her slightly as he wrapped one arm around her waist, resting his head back down.

She closed her eyes and let a slow, deep breath as they squished her between them. They radiated warmth, warming her to her very core. They were also very comfortable and she was very tired; crying always made her feel drained and tired. At least they were there to pick her back up and cuddle her until she felt better.


End file.
